Hadoop-as-a-Service Expected to Top $1.9 Billion by 2016

According to research from TechNavio, the global Hadoop-as-a-service market will be growing by leaps and bounds over the next few years. The research firm predicts it will top $1.9 billion in 2016.

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There is some skepticism about whether vendors and channel partners providing Hadoop services are yet bringing in the revenue they need to make it a viable business case, but according to a new report from TechNavio, the big bucks are ahead. And not that far ahead, really.

TechNavio's Global Hadoop-as-a-Service Market 2012-2016 report indicated the $131 million market of 2012 will grow tenfold over the next few years and top $1.9 billion in 2016. All things considered, that's a spectacularly compound annual growth rate of 95.16 percent. To be fair, it's still a fairly new market, so as it continues to catch on, it makes sense it will experience explosive growth.

Unfortunately for Hadoop-as-a-service providers, there's a general lack of awareness that is one of the key challenges holding back the market. TechNavio also noted that issues with real-time data analytics and the lack of maturity of the Hadoop platform are also presenting challenges to the market's growth.

What does the market have going for it? Main drivers include a demand for cost-effective Big Data management, a need for organizations to reduce the time spent on Hadoop-based Big Data management, and the need to prevent wastage.

TechNavio also identified some of the key markets for Hadoop-as-a-service, which will be led by large enterprises, SMEs and government organizations. Overall, the Americas will represent 54 percent to 56 percent of the total global market, while EMEA will make up 33 percent to 35 percent and APAC will be 10 percent to 12 percent.

Key vendors identified include Amazon Web Services, IBM, EMC and Microsoft. It's a curious choice for leading vendors, and although they'll play a huge role in their own ways, they're not the ones who are acting as the Hadoop evangelists. Larger vendors such as Red Hat have unveiled Hadoop strategies, but one of the most vocal supporters of Hadoop is MapR, which is building out its Hadoop business with additional funding and extended support.

There's no question that the Hadoop-as-a-service market is growing, and it will be interesting to see how things play out as more vendors and service providers accept Hadoop as a way to manage Big Data in the cloud.